Midwife recruitment 'crisis' as trainees say they can't afford to study

The Welsh Government says is has "maintained investment in education and training for the NHS workforce at £281m this year". Credit: PA Images

Trainee midwives are being forced to leave the profession because of "immense financial pressures", according to a Royal College of Midwives (RCM) report.

The report says clinical placements and longer term times mean students cannot take on additional work to supplement their finances.

Fiona Gibb, Director of Professional Midwifery at the RCM, said student midwives' options are to "take on paid work on top of their heavy study and placement schedule, to take on more debt, including borrowing from family and friends, or to drop out and leave their dreams of becoming a midwife behind them".

The union is calling on the Welsh Government to offer better financial support to people studying to become midwives.

The Welsh Government says is is again extending the NHS Bursary for eligible students this academic year and has "maintained investment in education and training for the NHS workforce at £281m this year".

Described as an "unreported crisis", the RCM is calling for the government to commit to support that is in line with inflation and reimbursement for the cost of student placements.

Without increased support, the RCM has warned that the number of qualified midwives will fall.

"The system has to be smarter than this, so that we don’t lose these future midwives from an NHS that desperately needs them", said Fiona Gibb.

Student midwives with a permanent home address in Wales can claim a non-repayable bursary, if they work in the country for two years after qualifying.

The Welsh Government said, “We are once again extending the NHS Bursary for eligible healthcare students studying in the 2024-25 academic year, alongside removing the Reduced Rate of Maintenance Loan for new and existing eligible, full-time, Welsh-domiciled NHS Wales Bursary students."

Adding, it has "maintained investment in education and training for the NHS workforce at £281m this year".

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